Signature Inn Jeffersontown, Kentucky, and Grand Rapids, Michigan

For this update...two more locations I haven't been to

aerial imagery courtesy of Bing maps

map graphic courtesy of signature-inns.com at archive.org

The Louisville/Jeffersontown, Kentucky, Signature Inn was originally built as a Best Western in 1994.  Signature Inn purchased the hotel in 1997, and the hotel was co-branded as a Best Western Signature Inn until around 2002.

It's interesting to note that while Signature Inn did some exterior work to their other acquired hotels to give them a little Signature Inn flair, this one had none.  At first, I all but refused to believe that this was a Signature Inn and never would have, had it not been on their website.  A search of some newspaper articles helped fill in the missing pieces.

courtesy of newspapers.com

courtesy of newspapers.com

As of 2006, this 119-room hotel was known as a Jameson Inn.  It was one of the final seven hotels to be sold, which took place in December 2012 or January 2013.  Since then, it has been a Quality Inn.

aerial imagery courtesy of Bing maps

The Grand Rapids, Michigan, location opened in 1987.  This is one of what I call the "Mystery 7;" that is, one of the seven locations I wasn't aware of when I began this Signature Inn adventure.  Throughout this blog, I have been adding locations in roughly the order they were built/purchased; unfortunately this is the best place I could fit this location.

This hotel began its life all the way back in 1968 as a Howard Johnson motor lodge.  Signature Inn purchased the property in 1987 and demolished the gate lodge in favor of its own lobby design.  Along with a new lobby, an extra wing of guest rooms was built to the rear of the hotel.  It's the wing on the left in the aerial photo; from the air, it definitely looks like a Signature Inn wing.  Unfortunately, it doesn't match the rest of the hotel.  When Signature Inn was finished, the hotel had 120 rooms.

This hotel was sold in 1992 and became a Days Inn.  Since then, it had also been known as a LaQuinta Inn before its current branding as a Best Western.

imagery courtesy of Google Maps

imagery courtesy of Google Maps

This one I had a hard time believing was ever a Signature Inn due to the fact that it largely didn't look like one.  The photo above of the lobby helped confirm the fact that it was at one point, though the canopy had been renovated.  A kind reader sent me the following link from highwayhost.org:
http://www.highwayhost.org/Michigan/GrandRapids/East/East1.htm

Definitely an interesting read!  Thank you to whoever sumbitted that link!

sources for this post include highwayhost.org, signature-inns.com archived at archive.org, jamesoninns.com archived at archive.org, information found at newspapers.com, and imagery found through Google Maps and Bing Maps.  The dividing lines were also "borrowed" from Signature Inn's old site.

Photographs of other Signature Inn locations can be found here: Formerly Signature Inn by Ryan on Flickr

Signature Inn Auburn Hills, MI, and Knoxville, TN

Due to the lack of photographs of the Auburn Hills, Michigan, and Knoxville, Tennessee, locations, I have doubled them up on this post.

aerial imagery courtesy of Bing Maps

The Auburn Hills, Michigan, Signature Inn was built in 1989.  It was one of three inns that shared an updated design.  Like Middleburg Heights, which was covered in the previous post, it does not have that rectangular "box" running the whole length of the roof (the aerial view above shows not even a partial box), and the roof peaks above the stairwells are quite different.  In fact, the roof's peaked appearance from the ground is more of a false roof, as seen from the air.  It contains 124 rooms.

This hotel was part of the Signature Inn chain until late 1992 or early 1993.  After that, it became a Hampton Inn.  Below is an article announcing the switch:

courtesy of newspapers.com

Unfortunately, I couldn't get decent views even from Google Maps.  It appears that since the aerial view was taken, the roof was painted more of a tannish color.

The hotel has since switched over to a Quality Inn.

aerial imagery courtesy of Bing Maps

map graphic courtesy of signature-inns.com at archive.org

The Knoxville, Tennesee, location opened in 1989.  It was Signature's only Tennessee location and was one of three hotels built with an updated design.  This hotel has 124 rooms.

This location became a Jameson Inn sometime between June 2004 and May 2006.  The canopy was given a more colonial look (forgive me if I have the architectural style wrong) once it fell under the Jameson name.  Below is a look at the hotel shortly after its construction, courtesy of Merit Construction (sorry guys):

photo courtesy of Merit Construction

This hotel would remain under the Jameson name until December 2012 or January 2013, when the final seven Signature Inn locations were sold out of the chain.  Since the sale, the hotel has been a Baymont Inn & Suites.

sources for this post include the Knox County, Tennessee, auditor's website, signature-inns.com archived at archive.org, jamesoninns.com archived at archive.org, information found at newspapers.com, and imagery found through Merit construction, Google Maps and Bing Maps.  The dividing lines were also "borrowed" from Signature Inn's old site.

Photographs of other Signature Inn locations can be found here: Formerly Signature Inn by Ryan on Flickr

Signature Inn Middleburg Heights, OH

Signature Inn opened its Middleburg Heights location in 1989.  This was one of seven hotels opened during this year.  Its proximity to the Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport (about 2 1/2 miles as the plane, er, crow flies) undoubtedly created a fair amount of business for the hotel.  This hotel was on the larger side, with 135 rooms.

The chain's building style had changed a bit since their inception.  Most noticeable to me is the roof.  Gone is the cladding that extends down past the third-floor windows.  Also, the roof peaks at the stairway ends of the hotel have a different shape to them.  The rectangular "box" on top of the roof also does not run the entire length of the roof; it was built basically large enough to hold just the hotel's signage.  As it turns out, there were three hotels built to this style.  As far as I can tell, the exterior has been virtually unchanged since the hotel's opening 27 years ago.

This hotel was sold sometime in late 1993 or early 1994.  It was one of nine hotels the company sold after its exit from bankruptcy in the early 1990s.  The hotel has remained a Comfort Inn since then.

I stated in my Canton post that I had the opportunity to stay at two former Signature Inns in early June 2016...this would be the other one.  It wasn't exactly near where I was headed for the next day, but it was along the way (more or less) and a 30 minute trip to my destination, so I figured the extra drive in the morning was worth it for the opportunity to stay here.

Though I'm sure paint and flooring changed over the years, the lobby still retains its basic Signature Inn flavor, with the lobby, staircase, and railing design still intact.

The check-in desk has been updated, but it still in the same spot as it would have been when the hotel was built.

Unlike Canton, the upper level of the lobby has a partitioned-off interview center.  The same area in the Canton hotel is simply a sitting area.  Like Canton, the upper level of the lobby has a business center with one computer for guests to use, although it it also partitioned off.

The breakfast area has the same look and feel to it as Canton's, the difference being that here, there is a glass wall fully enclosing the breakfast area, rather than a simple dividing wall.

Nothing too special about the hallways, but the whole hotel has a well-kept feel to it.

However, on the doors at the end of the halls, there is the standard exit sign mounted above, with a floor-level exit sign on the door.

Strangely, it appears there is a guest room just off the elevator.  That is a number plaque to the right of the door; my flash just washed it out.

My room:

The room was very nicely decorated and was clean and comfortable.

Finally for this post, a shot of the S-shaped pool:

Given the chance, I would definitely stay here again!  It's nice to see another hotel that's well kept and updated, but still retains the Signature Inn charm.

sources for this post include the Cuyahoga County, Ohio, auditor's website, information found through newspapers.com, and imagery found through Bing Maps.

Photographs not accredited in their captions were taken by me.  These and additional photos can be found here: Formerly Signature Inn by Ryan on Flickr with a special Middleburg Heights album here: Former Signature Inn, Middleburg Heights, Ohio

Signature Inn Bettendorf, IA, and Kalamazoo & Plymouth, MI

Today's post is a 3-for-one deal!

aerial imagery courtesy of Bing Maps

map graphic courtesy of signature-inns.com at archive.org

The Bettendorf, Iowa, Signature Inn opened in 1989 and was the chain's only location in Iowa.  It contains 119 rooms.

This hotel was sold in mid-2005 and as far as I can tell, it's been a Ramada ever since.

The following undated photos I saved from the Scott County, Iowa, Assessor's website shows that not much has been done regarding alterations to the exterior of the building...it still looks very much like a Signature Inn, and that is by no means a complaint.

courtesy of Scott County, IA, assessor

courtesy of Scott County, IA, assessor

courtesy of Scott County, IA, assessor

Looking again at the aerial view, the pool enclosure had me intrigued.  It looked like it could have been original, but many of the pools began as outdoor pools, so I did some more looking.  As it turns out, the pool was replaced with an indoor one in 2006.

courtesy of Scott County, IA, assessor

courtesy of Scott County, IA, assessor

aerial imagery courtesy of Bing Maps

The Kalamazoo, Michigan, location opened in 1989, containing 132 rooms.  This was another one of Signature Inn's locations that was sold off in the mid 1990s; this particular hotel was sold in 1993.

The exterior of this hotel has changed very little since its opening; the only significant change was the addition of the pool enclosure in 1994, a year after its sale.

As of 2005, the hotel was a Best Western, as shown in the below photos, courtesy of the Kalamazoo, Michigan, assessor (and one from Google Maps).

courtesy of Kalamazoo, MI, assessor

courtesy of Kalamazoo, MI, assessor

October 2012 photo courtesy of Google Maps

Sometime between October 2012 and September 2015, the hotel changed over to a Clarion Inn:

September 2015 photo courtesy of Google Maps

aerial imagery courtesy of Bing Maps

The Plymouth, Michigan, location opened in 1989.  It contains 115 rooms, slightly less than the average.  This hotel was sold out of the Signature Inn chain in late 1994.

Since its sale, this hotel has been a Comfort Inn.  It has received some updates to the exterior, and as I was browsing Tripadvisor.com, I noticed that the pool was an indoor one and not S-shaped.  Looking at a more recent overhead view from Google Maps, the outdoor pool had indeed been removed at some point.  I'm not quite sure where in the hotel the indoor one is located.

aerial imagery courtesy of Google Maps

sources for this post include the Scott County, Iowa, assessor's website, the Kalamazoo, Michigan, assessor's website, signature-inns.com archived at archive.org, jamesoninns.com archived at archive.org, information found at newspapers.com, and imagery found through Google Maps and Bing Maps.  The dividing lines were also "borrowed" from Signature Inn's old site.

Photographs of other Signature Inn locations can be found here: Formerly Signature Inn by Ryan on Flickr